2: Santa Pillow

I had a great (and much needed) Thanksgiving break. I was so excited to get out my Christmas decorations. My little green pillow looked almost festive… but much better wearing a Santa hat!

I like it. I think I’ll have a pillow wear a Santa hat every year, even if the pillow isn’t green.

1: Holiday Greetings

The Internet is so awesome. No single store could possibly have so many beautiful Holiday cards. I love letterpress and photo cards... here are some of my favorites:

Merry Little Christmas | Paper Lovely Press
Scarlet Noel |  Ruby Press

 Elum French Cafe Letterpress Holiday Cards | Luxe Paperie

Happy Holidays Postcards* | Rifle Paper Co.

(not letterpress... but too beautiful to leave out)

I love this one... probably not to send en masse, though.

Winter Snuggle Letterpress Card | Paper Schmaper


I am so impressed with the variety and quality of pre-fab photo cards! If you're really in a time crunch, most companies will also address and mail them for you.

Felt Stocking & Medallion Holiday Photo Cards | Minted

 Peace, Love, and Hope & Monogram Prep Holiday Photo Cards | Minted

Mod Love & Holly and Jolly Christmas Cards | Shutterfly

24 Days of Christmas continues Monday with a little traditional red and green!

Starting tomorrow...

A shiny new Holiday post every weekday and Saturday until Christmas!

Yoga Mat Panels

House Beautiful

My mom sent me this really interesting idea-- would you believe these panels are made of yoga mats trimmed in molding? I never would have guessed! Pearl River sells yoga mats for $1.95, so this could be a really cheap way to cover a lot of wall space and add texture.

More than anything, I love that captain's mirror. I love that it's hung between the panels instead of inside one.

Rifle Paper

 

Rifle Paper was featured in the inaugural edition of Gifted magazine (check it out here). I love everything in the shop, especially the Christmas cards and the florals. So beautiful!

 

Interiors of Harry Potter

I am really excited to see the new Harry Potter movie this weekend. The set designs are incredible-- so imposing, heavy, detailed and British.

photo

I love libraries, so I'm fond of the rooms with stacks and stacks of books.

image

Talk about a gallery wall!

The Gryffindor common room's woods, velvet, and tapestries are worn and cozy.

House and Garden via katiedid

The Shrieking Shack. Call me crazy, but I think this room is kind of beautiful! It looks like an Anthropologie ad.

< Two Weeks to Turkey

I love the Better Homes and Gardens 100 Days of Holidays newsletter. There are so many ideas, sent to your email daily for 100 days leading up to Christmas, that there is bound to be something for everyone.

My favorites are the neutral palettes that use nature and can easily transition from fall to winter. With less than two weeks to Thanksgiving, check out BHG for a lot of simple and quick (and pretty) ideas.

Bento Box Home

I often wonder where all the stuff goes in homes like this. The answer for this family is that they only live in 50% of their square footage, the other 50% is all storage. The apartment is designed like a bento box, with little compartments for each function. So their secret is more storage and keeping stuff out of sight, not necessarily having less stuff.

This is the master bed/bedroom. The bedding goes underneath the platform when it's not in use.

The girls’ room is my favorite. I love the sleek cupboards hiding all their toys and trinkets. It’s so clean and organized! If only, right?

All photos: Trevor Tondro for New York Times

Vintage Prints

I love the look of vintage ads and drawings of plants and animals, and wanted some to hang above my bed. I found these pretty bird images in the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery. You can purchase prints that I'm sure are much higher quality, but these work just fine for me. I put them in two $10 Ribba frames from IKEA... fast and simple art for $20!

Check out the gallery-- there are so many great images. You can search or browse by name, subject, division or collection. I recommend the Ornament and Pattern: Pre-Victorian to Art Deco collection... beautiful.

Dorm Room Makeover

Dell Computers recently held a national dorm makeover contest, and one of the winners goes to school here in Charlottesville. Because a computer company sponsored the makeover, the electronics were the main focus. She got pretty hooked up. But they also had a designer come makeover her space, and it got me thinking about how I would decorate a dorm.

In my college dorm room, I had a floor lamp that did double-duty as a coat rack (it was the first thing in the room, so I always tossed my jackets on it). I had a horribly uncomfortable and stiff desk chair, fluorescent lighting, and sticky notes all over the place. So I included little remedies to my personal dorm dilemmas in my design. Here's what I came up with:

I think I'd like to live here.

Sources:

Bohemian Medallion Shams and Duvet | Urban Outfitters
Grey Blue Striped Cotton Pillow Case | Vintage Jamie
Pompon Pillow Cover | Secdus
Black Bow Pillow Cover | Secdus

Portis Hat and Coat Stand | IKEA
Acid Etch Letters | Urban Outfitters
Sveje Rug | IKEA
Antique Gold Chalkboard | Revived Vintage
Ranunculus | Irene Sukochi
Classic Computer Desk | Simply Shabby Chic for Target
Gregor Swivel Chair | IKEA
Swirling Surf Pillow | Anthropologie
Rose Landscape Shade | Anthropologie
Crystal Candlestick Table Lamp | Simply Shabby Chic for Target
4x6 Red Wooden Picture Frame | Mackenzie Frames
8 Spoke Spinning Jewelry Stand | Urban Outfitters

Hung by the chimney with care.

I am this close to putting up some Christmas decorations. I used to have an absolute rule that I did not put anything out until the day after Thanksgiving. But that leaves only one month to enjoy the Christmas decorations, and that is just not long enough.

For as many Christmas decorations as I have, I do not have stockings! Not that I haven't been looking. I am just so picky about the shape.

 Cable Knit Stocking with Pom | Target

The price is definitely right on these ($10!), but I wish they were longer.

 

 Fiona Green Multi Stocking | Crate and Barrel

This one is really fun (it reminds me of my pillow crush), but the swampy green color isn't for me.

 

Hable Elegant Eyelet Stocking | Garnet Hill

Aaah, neutral, that's better. So cute. Too cute?

Suzanne Kasler Burlap Stocking | Ballard Design

I almost love this one, but the shape is so wonky! But it wouldn't be hard to DIY something similar and fix that issue.

And I saved the best for last...

Shell & Raffia Christmas Stockings | Horchow

Perfect. 

The price is steep, at $175 each... but you can see you're paying for quality. 

They're 30% off right now, if that helps anyone. Or maybe we can hit the after-Christmas sale.

Party Advice from the Pros

This month's House Beautiful was all about entertaining. They asked a bunch of designers, event planners, and bloggers for their entertaining advice. Here are some of my favorites, which work for a fancy party or just a dinner with friends:

Create a music playlist that's ready to begin as soon as the doorbell rings and doesn't end until the last guest departs.

Tricia Folley

Sabre

Don't use plastic.

Jennifer Rubell

 

West Willow

Send out a proper invitation.

Ken Fulk

Always start with an empty dishwasher.

Chesie Breen

 

Party Perfect

Don't ever make it feel formal-- it's such a snooze.

Jonathan Adler